Light Leptoquarks in a Dark Sector: Scalar Dark Matter, Neutrino Mass, and Collider Signatures
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: We investigate the dark matter (DM) phenomenology and subsequent collider signatures of a dark leptoquark (LQ) model containing dark vector-like quarks (VLQs) and a scalar singlet. The dark LQs and VLQs participate in the radiative generation of Majorana neutrino masses at one loop. Since the coloured LQs and VLQs cannot serve as viable DM candidates, a $\mathbb{Z}_2$-odd singlet scalar is introduced as the DM candidate. The $\mathbb{Z}_2$-odd nature of the LQs forbids their conventional decays into a quark and a lepton, allowing them to evade the standard LHC constraints that apply to visible LQ signatures. This framework therefore offers the distinctive possibility of sub-TeV dark LQs coexisting with TeV-scale dark VLQs. These sub-TeV dark LQs help in achieving the observed relic abundance of the singlet through co-annihilation. We analyse the resulting DM phenomenology and assess the prospects for probing this scenario at a future muon collider.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Language: English
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: G1721801740, G27942868
OpenAlex ID: W7208734470